Truer Than Logic
by WeezelLee
Summary: Sequel to my other fanfic, Reason. I suggest you read Reason before reading this. Don thought the dangers of Stockman and his alien software was over. He’s dead wrong, and this time, Stockman has one of Don’s brothers!
1. Remember

_Hey, ya'll! Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't finished Shades of Green yet. I just couldn't wait! You remember my other fic, Reason, right? Yeah, the sad excuse of a plot line! Anyway, I kinda had you guys hanging there at the end. Here's the sequal to Reason. I would strongly recomend you read Reason before this fic. You don't have to; free country and all that. Anyway, things are going to get crazy quickly. This chapter is kinda yawn-vill, recap on Reason. It has a moment or two of fluffy goodness! Don't worry, we'll get to the action soon. This story will still have much Philosophy symbolistic goodness as the first one did. Dun dun dun! As always, thanks for reading._

_Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or flutternutters. Yep, I said flutternutters. Tee-hee._

* * *

**Truer Than Logic**

Chapter I: Remember

"Hope is a waking dream." Aristotle

Leo sat near his sleeping brother and reflected on the past week. The lair was silent instead of the sound of the shower streaming. Smiling to himself, Leo knew that threatening Mikey's comic book collection if he did not shower was a smart idea. It was mean at first, but Mikey had not left Don's side since they brought him home from the Shredder's tower…three days ago.

"How is he?"

Leo looked up to Raph who stood at the doorway of Don dimly lit lab/bedroom. Is that what I look like, Leo thought. Raph looked exhausted and worried, and had the many signs of sleepless nights. They were all worried, and no one slept. Raph's eyes were darker as if hiding the worry, but his voice faltered that front.

"Same." Leo said sadly, and he looked down at Don. Wounds and bruises were fading on Don's olive-green skin. Thankfully there were no serious injuries, but why was he still in a coma?

Three days ago, Leo's heart beat with renewed hope when he carried Don's body away from that hell. Don was kidnapped exatly a week ago. The Shredder and Dr. Stockman had planned an perfectly executed plan that night. Don decided to go on his own that night on a scavenging trip to the junkyard.

Then Don was soon surrounded by Foot ninja. Outnumbered, Don had ran, and they gave chase. Alarms were placed on every sewer hole for a good three miles. When Mikey called Don's phone is when Don realized.

It was all a trap.

_-flashback-_

_The baby brother gasped, "How many."_

_Looking around, Don huffed. "At least thirty; maybe thirty-five. Should I stop and give a head count?" Okay, he was being sarcastic, but he was also tired and outnumbered._

_There was a moment of silence, and then Leo's voice asked on the other side, "Where are you?"_

_"They have all the man holes triggered with some sort of alarm system." Don panted as he side jumped back to the rooftops. "It's almost like they expect me to…" Then the realization of the ninjas' plan hit almost leaving Don breathless. Again he cursed himself for being so stupid. They were following him; waiting for him to run home to spring a full attack on his family in their own home! It was a trap. It was all a dirty trap!_

_Leo sound angered, "That's not what I asked."_

_"It's a trap, Leo!" Don practically yelled. "They want me to retreat so they'll find out where our lair is. They have an alarm system on every sewer entrance in Manhattan. Oh shell, I should have expected that when they didn't attack me at the junkyard!"_

_"That's not what I asked, Donatello!" Leo was yelling back. "We'll handle their ambush when that happens. Now where are you so we can find you."_

_Don said, "No, Leo. Don't you see? That's their contingency! You guys will use one of the man holes to find me. There must be a trigger system throughout the whole sewers. They were just waiting for one of us to leave."_

_"Then what do you expect us to do, Don." Leo growled, "Leave our brother up with an army of ninja!"_

_Don just kept running and jumping with the phone still pressed to his ear. Options were few and depleting with each second, and Don was never a spontaneous type of genius. The ninja were drawing closer, and Don's legs burned with too much pain._

_"Don! You are not reassuring us here." Leo shouted._

_"Sorry. It's just hard to think, run, and talk at the same time."_

_"We're coming."_

_"Did we just have the conversation?!" Don roared, "That's what they want, Leo!"_

_"I won't leave you, okay? Conversation is over! I order you to tell me where you are!" In the background Don could hear Raph yelling curses about locking Don his lab for a week. Mickey and Splinter were nearby but silent. _

_Hesitating, Don smiled. "I've got an idea."_

_"You'd better hope it brings you home, Donatello."_

_"It will." _

Leo tensed when a hand rested on his shoulder. Too wrapped up in the memory of that horrible night, Leo had lost sense of the present. Looking up to his red masked brother, Leo tried to smile. He tried to show that this wasn't eating him inside and out.

That night…he thought he lost a brother.

_-flashback-_

_"Leo, you remember reading Socrates' Death with me, right?" _

_"Wha…"There was a silence, but then Leo realized what Don was saying. "You…Oh no, DONNIE! NO!" _

_"What's going on?" Raph demanded angrily as he normally was when out of the loop._

_"Socrates was offered an escape by his friends, but Socrates answered no. He wished to die for a greater cause, he called it- wisdom." Don felt a tear sliding down his face. "I'll do the same, but my cause will be…for love."_

_With bounded wrist, Don smacked the pellets to the ground. Seven pellets of smoke caused an almost opaque mist to surround Don._

_"RUN!" Don screamed to his brothers. "LEAVE ME! SAVE YOURSELVES!"_

_"You impudent scum!" The ninja cursed near Don's head._

_"DONNIE!"_

_"Mickey, we have to go!"_

_"Not without Don!"_

_"There's no time, Raph! This is what…LET'S GO! NOW!"_

Leo breathed in. How those moments shattered his heart. His body had gone into an autopilot mode. He forgot about everything; even his own soul's screams. Blood had frozen in his veins, and hope died in a flash of smoke.

Raph sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed. Leo was sitting on Don's old computer chair. The leader of the group looked so conflicted and angry at something, and he was ignoring the world. He looked down at Don's still face. The blankets over Don's chest moved up and down with the soft, shallow breathing.

Taking Leo's hand in his, Raph looked back down at Don.

He was alive. Raph's breathed in hope because of that one fact. Don was alive. He was not dead. He was home. He was safe and alive. They all where, but in Raph's heart lurked a heart-freezing memory three days ago when they found Don.

Raph grit his teeth at the even mention of the memory. After learning Don wasn't really dead, He, Leo, and Mikey had infiltrated Shredder's tower to rescue their lost brother. They found the prison level of that dark skyscraper. Even Kaira had helped. They found Don's cell, and Raph was the first to see…

_-flashback (wow, is that annoying?)-_

_He was one second from plunging the dagger into his own neck when the door was quickly unlocked. The door was thrust open; blinding light flooded the cell. Don found himself in another shadow._

_"Don? Donnie, what are you…" The voice soon turned into completely horror, "DONNIE! NO!"_

_Don eyes opened. He knew that voice, but this couldn't be right. Raph was dead, and soon he would too. It just had to be his mind; all in his mind. They were dead. All dead. All dead together._

_Suddenly the makeshift dagger was ripped from his hands, and crushing arms were holding him. Next to his hear, there was someone familiar and warm crying; holding and rocking him._

_"God, Donatello!" Raph blubbered into Don's shoulder. "What the hell where…Oh, Donnie. It's okay. It's okay. We're here."_

_Don's voice suddenly rang out. "No! No, please. You can't be here. This…this isn't real. You're…Oh God!"_

Don had almost killed himself. Before Raph's eyes, his own brother was moments from a suicide attempt. Forever would that picture be framed on the dark side of his heart. It would stand as something never to be forgotten, but how Raph wished to erase the whole damn week together.

Now, Don wasn't reassuring them. He just lied there, like a breathing corpse. Day in and day out, nothing changed in his health. Raph frowned at the unfairness of it all. Now that Don was home and safe, he still wasn't completely _here_. Sure, he was within reach, but it wasn't enough.

Leo's other hand rested on Raph's hand, forming a pile. Raph looked up with tired eyes to only see Leo looked more tired a worried than anyone. Inside the dim room spoke an unbearable truth.

They could do nothing for him, and it felt like loosing him again.

"Mikey's out of the shower." Raph said listlessly. He tried to smile. "Should we give him back his comics?"

Leo smiled back, "Just until he get's a good night sleep."

"Right." Raph took back his hands. Hallmark moment over. "He won't go to his room for all the pizza in Manhattan."

Don moaned.

The world froze for two point three seconds. Raph and Leo looked to each other in shock expressions. In a flash, they were fully turned to their comatose brother. Raph breathed. He didn't just dream that, right?

Don's mask-less face grimaced, and he defiantly moaned again with a closed mouth. Don's legs were twisting against the confounding blankets. Mikey had piled on the blankets a little too much. Right now, Leo and Raph loomed over Don. Leo's hand rested gently on Don's head while Raph's hand cupped an uncovered shoulder.

Raph grinned. Don was fightin' back! That was the brother he remembered and wanted to remember. The geek of the family, always explain' things that he only understood. That brain that fixed Raph's bike every time with a smile while he listened to Raph's venting about life.

He was fightin' back.

* * *

_Outside The Cave was lonely, desolate. Don kept one foot well inside The Cave's threshold. His right hand still gripped the outer rim of The Cave's entrance. Was he really ready? Ready to leave the sanctuary and safe lies of his cave?_

_In his other hand was his bo staff that was poised next to him like a walking staff. Looking up to the sky, Don saw the clouds beginning to break, but the stormy clouds were still there. He gripped his staff tighter and took a deep, shaky breath._

_"Can you move forward?"_

_Don clenched his jaw as he heard the voice of that mysterious man dressed in 4__th__ century BC Roman robe. A set of dark, penetrating eyes watched Donatello. The bald man with his long bread reminded Don of someone, but who? It wasn't like Don knew many ancient Roman ghost in his 21__st__ century New York life._

_The man was well inside the Cave's darkness. His sandaled feet were in the line between the light outside and the darkness inside. Did he fear the light too._

_Don asked the man. "If I do leave The Cave, what will I find?"_

_"You have already found it." The Roman said clearly. "You only feared it, so you ran into shadows of the Cave."_

_Don frowned. "Okay, so I was scared." He defensively added, "I've learned my lesson from this allegory." Don looked to the sky. The ravens were coming again, and black lightning broke the blue sky like a crack in the mirror._

_The Roman tiled his head, "Tell me, Donatello. Is there something truer than logic and reason?"_

_Don turned back to him. Then his eyes fell to the stone ground near the Cave wall. Inside his heart, there was the answer, but there was no name for it. Or at least Don didn't know the name._

_"Truth is inside all of us." The Roman smiled, "You know the answer. Go and find the answer to this most puzzling question. Have faith, Donatello. There is an answer."_

Don eyes opened instantly as the dream ended with the Roman man muttering something about something. Man, did his brain hurt. It was too bright. As soon as he opened his eyes, Don moaned and closed his eyes again.

Okay, now he felt weird. Alive but weird. All his limbs felt like they were made of stone, and his lungs felt like sponges only soaking up oxygen instead of breathing. His mouth was like a desert- dry and hot. Everything was too hot and too bright. Even with his eyes closed.

A tingling feeling creped from his brain to all sensory organs. He was soon smelling and hearing familiar things. The aroma of metal and brick and clean sheets and the muffled sounds of subway trains and sewer rivers. The louder sounds of familiar voices calling his name, and the sensation of being lifted and held.

Something was pressed slowly to his lips. It was a hard, plastic…thing. Before Don could begin thinking what it was, his head was gently tilted back. Still he kept his eyes closed. Still to bright.

Water. It gently ran like a wave to his lips above or in the plastic thing. Wow, did he feel weird, but the haze was lifting. Opening his mouth slowly, Don drank the cool liquid. Chemically cleaned, Don's mind moaned to life. The water was chemically cleaned by a filter Don invented when he was fourteen or something. Clean water from home.

Wait?! Don's eyes snapped open. Home? He was home? He blinked against the sudden brightness of the room. A warm feeling of being watched and held filled his once lonely life. It felt like centuries since Don felt like this. Like he was home.

Like fog disappearing with the mourning sun, Don was brought back into the world of awareness. The haze was finally away from his eyes, and he was focusing on the faces around him. They were all smiling.

His brothers. Completely relieved, Don rolled his head back into the crock of Leo's arm. Raph put the cup of half-emptied water back on the desk, and Mikey held a death grip on Don's hand.

Darn it, Don cursed to himself as he felt exhaustion regain it's hold. Still it didn't feel like he was fainting, passing out. It felt like his body just needed a good sleep. Before closing his eyes, he smiled and looked each brother in the face. God, did he miss them.

"Just rest, Donnie." Leo's voice.

Mikey piped up, "Yeah, when you wake up I'm going to make you all the fluffernutters you can take."

Don tried to laugh, but his throat was so raw and dry. He nearly chocked before Raph gave him a gently dosage of water. Man, did he miss water too. That was Don's last thought before drifting into a peaceful, risk-free sleep.

* * *

_Awwwww! Fluffy goodness, and I don't mean just the promise of flutternutters! Seriously just google flutternutters! They are a college kid's fluffy dream come ture! _

_I will pay all that review virtual flutternutters. They're not as good as the real stuff, but heck what do you expect? I'm poor! LOL! Please review and thanks for reading!_

_-Weezellee_


	2. Crashing the Danger

_Yo, ya'll. Hey, I'm sorry if the end of Reason was confusing and left you with a bleach taste in your mouth. I'll make it up to you in this story! Just say that Truer Than Logic is the conclusion of Reason! I should state here and now that Reason is completed, and no it's no a mistake for me to say that it is completed. I promise on the Bible that I will not leave you hanging at the end of this fic. That would be...mean. LOL!_

_Disclaimer: Seriously, does anyone really read the disclaimers. Can't we just skip them!_

* * *

Chapter II: Crashing the Danger

"The end excuses any evil." Sophocles

Days passed, Mikey kept his promise. Ten flutternutters later, Don was ready to explode! Most of his wounds were healed, and he was tingling with anticipation for everything to return to normal.

"Seriously, Leo! I'm fine!" Don said for the…ten or eleventh time…THAT DAY! Between Leo asking how Don was doing every hour, Mikey shoving flutternutters in his face, and Raph telling him to take it easy during practice. There was also Master Splinter's constant glancing to see if Don would faint…again.

Okay, so he did faint. Heck, it was his first day on his feet! What did they expect? Don to be able to do back flips or something? He was walking with Raph on one side and Leo on the other side, and Don wanted to see if he would walk on his own. Two words: big mistake. Punishment for that mistake was for Don to be on constant watch, and he couldn't walk until he was absolutely, dead sure he could manage to walk.

Don had to admit, at first it was nice for a little family attention. Now, he was just getting tired of it. Was it bad enough that he felt guilty about the whole mess to begin with?

"We're just…worried about you." Leo offered when Don showed a little too much irritation.

Guilt trip. One ticket, one way.

Don winced, "I know." He looked down at his hands.

"Don…can I ask you what happened at the Tower?" Leo asked.

Don looked up at his brother in sullen shock. He knew this would happen, and he tried to mentally prepare himself for it. Still he was having some bad flashbacks of Hun's punishments and Stockman's electronic collar. Not to mention the endless hours of working for the Shredder and starving in the small cell. Endlessly wondering if your family was okay. Worrying that they thought you were dead, and if they only knew what you were doing…and…

Leo's hand was instantly on his forearm. Breath, Don commanded himself. You can get through this.

Don could do this, but he refused to look at Leo. He concentrated on where Leo's hand lingered on his wrist. That when Don noticed the chains were gone. Sure he knew they were gone, but now that reality could sink in.

"I-I" Don began, but his voice was broken. He cleared his vocal cords and tried again. "After they kidnapped me…they first held me in an old fish freezer by the docks…"

* * *

"Karia…helped you guys?" Don sat there shocked. After shock came the guilt.

Leo nodded and smiled, "I know! I was surprised, to be honest. She did it so willingly too." Don frowned and looked away. Leo asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Don sighed, "After…the bomb went off. I thought the worst, so I blamed Kaira."

"Something you said must have gotten to her." Leo offered.

* * *

Later that night, Don lied on his bed to stare at the dark ceiling above. This was the first night, since being rescued, that Mikey didn't sleep with him. It was Splinter's order, and Mikey obeyed with a pouting lip.

Now Don's thoughts were on other things. His mind replayed the past days where he worked for Stockman to built software and…

The software! Don's eyes snapped open! Oh shell, how could he forget!

Literally jumping off his bed, Don raced to turn on the light. Once on, he turned to his computers. Three in all including his laptop. They all had the alien software within the circuits.

Don was thinking out loud which is what he normally did in times of stress. "Stockman's computer system will still have the new software that will accept the alien programs- just like mine."

Don had to get to his mainframe computer in the living room! Crap, what if he ran into his family? Installing the virus would take less than 15 minutes. Sending the virus to the recognizable software in Stockman's computer: 5.6 minutes. Then Don had 4 to 10 minutes to dismantle his computers, he would use his bo….

Don picked up his weapon in the corner. Using every ninja skill available, Don hid well in shadow and crawled to his main computer. Turning it on quickly, Don reached for the CD case. He took out a burned CD with the word: SOCRATES written on the top with Sharpe pen. Putting it into the D drive, Don clicked five times, and the virus was being downloaded.

Don smiled to himself. He could almost see Stockman yelling at the top of us lungs as all computers with Don's software crashed! As soon as a dialoged box appeared to signal that the virus, Socrates, was downloaded, Don looked back behind him. This was going to be noisy.

Then he realized something, and he smacked his palm against his forehead. "Idiot! Just take the motherboards and run!" Unplugging it all, Don ran to his room to gather his lab top and two other computers. He had two minutes before Stockman could trace the virus right to the lair!

Don jumped with the heavy load of computer motherboards and one laptop. No one heard that, Don breathed, and ran for the exit to the garage.

"A little late for a donut run, dude." Mikey called from the top of the stairs.

"Damn." Don cursed, and he glared at Mikey. "Just…go back to bed, Mike. I'll talk to you in the mourning."

Mikey tilted his head and saw all the computers in his arm. "You're not thinking about leaving the lair, are you?" Wow, give points to Mikey in the Leo-sound-a-like completion. "Master Splinter ordered that none shall go alone topside, Don. You know that."

Don turned to his watch. No time to argue. "Fine. Come on. We don't have much time. I'll explain on the way."

* * *

Stockman glared at the screen before him. The entire system was destroyed. Utterly crashed, but that mattered little. On his monitor was a map of the city, and his focus was upon a moving red dot.

"Socrates." Stockman leered at the virus name. Picking up the phone, Stockman spoke into it. "Donatello is heading for the docks. Most likely he wants to dispose of the evidence."

"We have their van in our sights." A Foot ninja informed on the other line. "He's not alone. What will we do with the other?"

"Kill anyone who gets in the way."

* * *

_Short chapter? Heck yeahs! Gotta get the adventure going, right? So, Stockman has already found the virus and Don's computers. How? Why did Don do that in the first place? What is going on? Let's just say that Don and Mikey are in for one hell of a night. Man! I love this!_

_As always, thanks for reading!_

_-Weezellee_


	3. Screaming Your Name

_Dude! This had WAY too much fun with this chapter! It's about 10 times better than that lame previous chapter. Soooo much crazy adranaline went into this thing! That I also ate like five brownies, and I'm hyper. Strange that I write my best stuff when I'm hyper. Anway, this chapter will answer a few questions yet it will leave you hanging like no other. Okay, now I need some humility pie. My ego needs it's own zip code. I'll shut up now._

_Disclamier: If I owned the TMNT there would be more Psychology and less butt kicking. And, honestly kids, who wants THAT?!_

* * *

Chapter III: Screaming Your Name

"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." Voltaire

"Sooooo...we're destroying your computers because of the virus or the Triceraton programs?" Mikey asked in the passenger seat of the Battle Shell.

"Both." Don said firmly as he made a tight turn. Tires squealed and so did Mikey.

"Whoa, Dude!" Mikey clung to the armrest. "You do know the speed limit in below the sound bearer?"

Don ignored that comment, and just kept speeding. Thankfully no stupid pedestrians dared to steep off of the sidewalk. In the back of Don's mind he feared a police interference. There was no time! Logically, Don was far behind, and it could already be _too late_!

"The Triceraton programs I installed in Stockman's computer has a simple-to-use tracking system to locate any other computers using the same Triceraton programs- including mine." Don snarled at himself. _How could he be so stupid?_ "The only way I could destroy the tracker was to destroy the whole computer. I sent the Socrates virus from my computer to his. Hopefully, that crashed his whole system, but the viruses can be tracked too. With the Triceraton tracker, you can find the general area of about three blocks where another computer is that is using the same programs. If Stockman traced that virus…he could pinpoint the exact location to inches."

Don turned again as they speed to the docks. We wasn't necessarily breaking the speed limit or running through three red lights on purpose. That's Raph's trill. But, they were just wasting too much time.

"So, you're destroying you computers to destroy the chances of being tracked?" Mikey guessed. "You're taking the computers as far away from the lair as possible. Also you're going to dump your computers into the river just in case smashing the motherboards isn't enough to destroy the tracking system."

"Yeah." Don said. He was too focused to be surprised that Mikey, of all turtles, understood the plan so well. There would be time for that. "Damn it! It's been five days since I installed those programs. Stockman had ample time to find us."

Mikey tried to smile, "Hey, if he did find the tracking system. The lair would be swarming with Foot ninjas by now, right?"

Leave it for Mikey to be sugary optimistic when dealing with Don's stupid mistake.

Don said nothing to that, so Mikey choice to remain silent. A few years ago, Mikey would be pestering his older brother to see things on the brighter side of Hell. Now he knew that poking at a brooding dog only got you hand bit off.

Don finally smiled when he saw the Hudson. Excited for this to be behind him, Don finally slowed down until they were on the edge of an iron pier. Parking the car, Don turned off the engine and lights.

"Alright." Don scanned the area that was thankfully vacant. "Let's go."

Both brothers steeped out into the clear sky night. Don was a little suspicious of the amazing luck that night. There should have been more humans around the streets that time of night.

Silently they steeped out of the van. There was hardly a sound except for soft, almost mute swish of the river's current. That, Don said again, was odd. New York City was known for a lot of things but quiet was not one of them.

Something was wrong. It was pungent in the humid air. It was like the sidewalk echoed with danger and the sky was alive with silent alarm. Looking to Mikey, Don saw the attentive fear in his eyes. Yeah, something…was wrong.

Looking around them, the brothers saw nothing wrong, but Master Splinter taught them not to trust their sight too much. Sight can be misleading. Ninja is one who both relies on sight as an old friend and doubts is like an old enemy.

_"Behind you!" _Don's mind was screaming, and he turned the same time Mikey did. Fear froze in his veins as he saw a whole legion of Foot ninja watching them from the nearby rooftops with Karia as their leader.

* * *

Something was wrong.

Leo's eyes opened to complete darkness of his room. The faint smell of melted candle wax still lingered. The air was still with the peacefulness of home at late night, but something was wrong.

Standing, Leo walked slowly to the door and managed to pick up his swords on the way. Listening to the darkness, Leo concentrated on finding out what was so out of place. The only feeling arrived was the same sinking doubt.

Something was wrong, and Leo opened the door slowly. The hallway was dark except for the light coming from the living room below. Breathing slowly, Leo unsheathed his swords and the feeling of wrongness easily increased. Was it paranoia, or was something really wrong?

Slipping through his door, Leo stayed within shadows as he peered over the hallway landing to see the living room. Nothing out of place. _Wait_…Leo looked at the corner where Don's computer was, so should he say…use to be.

It was gone. Not the whole computer, but the motherboard. How did Leo know where to look was a mystery. No time to play Sherlock. Leo looked to his Master's bedroom door. Closed, and the sense of wrongness wasn't coming from there.

It was coming from somewhere else, Don's room. Turning to the room to his left, Leo held his breath. The feeling was pungent now, and now his heart was pounding loudly. Opening the door, Leo didn't dare call his brother's name in fear that only that would confirm his assumptions.

Sensing a lost of familiar presence, Leo turned on the light only to find Don's bed empty. The blanket and sheets tossed to the floor in a rush. The entire lab was in a form of rushed disarray, like Don was looking for something. Leo looked to the desk, and saw that the other computers' motherboards were gone along with Don's laptop.

Leo's attention was forced behind him. Someone was behind him, but they were hiding around the doorframe on the outside. Holding his sword firmly, Leo waited for the presence to come out of hiding. The person still waited for Leo to move, and he did.

In a flash of sword, Leo turned with sword pointed, and the presence moved just as quickly with sia drawn. He blinked seeing Raph at the wrong end of his sword's blade. Time rushed back to normalcy, and Raph's sia had easily caught Leo's blade.

With wide eyes and heaving chests, the brothers locked scared stares for a while before they simultaneously dropped their weapons slowly.

"God, Leo." Raph breathed with no real emotion except for post-adrenaline-rush relief. "What are you doing sneaking around?"

Leo took a huge exhale of a breath he'd been holding for heaven knew how long. "I could ask you the same."

Shaking off the tingles, Raph looked to Don's bed and gasped. "Not Don too!" He roared.

"What's going on, Raph?"

"You musta' had that creepy feelin' too, huh?" Raph looked to Leo with rage in his eyes. "Mikey's gone too. _And_ the Battle Shell missin'!"

Leo looked back the Don's bed. "So are Don's computers. Do you know what's going on?"

"Not a clue." Raph growled and folded his arms with sias still in his hands.

Leo sighed in frustration. It was too soon for their brothers to go alone. Not only because of the danger, but because of Leo's tendency to worry to form ulcers.

Saying nothing, Leo walked quickly to the living room, and picked up his shell cell. Raph followed slower, and he stayed near the garage door. Dialing quickly, Leo waited…and waited…and waited.

"Damn!" Leo cursed as he heard Don's voice mail. When he called Mikey, he got the same result. Frustrated, he tossed his phone to the sofa. "No answer. From both of them. Did they even take their phones?"

"Yeah." Raph answered just as angrily as Leo. At least Don could have left a note, a post-it, ANYTHING when they left in the middle of the freaking' night!

"If they took their phones" Leo said as he took the keys to the two shell cycles, "then we can track them on ours." He tossed a key to Raph. Raph was running to the garage, but turned to see Leo scribbling a short note in Japanese. If Master Splinter found all four sons missing without a note, it would mean two days of endless training and lectures.

However; once they found Don and Mike, Leo would do some lecturing of his own. Raph would just do the punching and asking questions later.

"Let's go already!" Raph snarled, and Leo quickly finished and tapped the note to the largest TV monitor. The two eldest ran out of their home with worst case situations running through their minds.

* * *

Kaira signaled for the attack, and the fight commenced. Ninjas jumped from the rooftops and came running with swords drawn. Don cursed. There were so many, but at least he wasn't alone now. That happy thought soon turned into dread. He wasn't alone. That was true. He was with his little brother who willingly followed Don into the trap.

Guilt slowed Don's first attack. _"IGNORAMUS!" _Don's mind was screaming and pounding it's fist against Don's judgment. _"You complete and utter fool! How could you lead your brother so blindly into the trap YOU KNEW WAS COMING!"_

Can't think now. Have to fight. Don soon regained his strength and focus, and he turned to Mikey who was knocking out a few ninjas. He did this with that smile of his where the edge of his tongue stayed at the corner of an upturned mouth. Nunchakus spun faster than an eye could process the image, and Don breathed in knowing Mikey could hold his own in this skirmish. Still, Don stayed as close to Mikey as possible.

They just kept coming! When did the Shredder get a ninja cloning machine? Vastly outnumbered by the onslaught, Don's body began to wear out. He still hadn't recovered completely from his previous incarceration.

"DONATELLO!" Karia's voice yelled over the commotion of battle. Don spun his bo staff over his head like a helicopter blades. Easily the staff collided with a dozen jaws and skulls of unfortunate ninjas.

Stopping the spinning, Don jumped next to Mikey. He would answer Karia later, and he give her a hard talking to. Anger now fueled his punches and kicks.

Now Don and Mikey were back to back. There seemed to be no end to them, but Don could see their numbers lessening. He only prayed that this would finish before they did.

Mikey laughed as he heaved to catch his breath, "Dude, you tell us…that you made so many friends!"

"Ha." Don panted, but he smiled. "They call me the quiet type, but these guys…take the cake."

"Speaking…" Mikey high kicked, and landed, "of cake. You _so_ owe me…your famous German chocolate…Don."

"You've go it, Mikey."

Suddenly a very skilled ninja was attacking Don. With his mind blurry with adrenaline and exhaustion, Don didn't see who it was until the ninja addressed him.

"Donatello!" Karia called again. Don eyes opened wide seeing the Japanese woman fighting just him. All the ninjas seemed to back away, or were they all attacking Mikey?

Don deflected her sword with his bo. "Karia, what is the meaning of this?" Dodge the high kick, stand, and attack.

Karia was not the Shredder's daughter for stupid reasons. Karia meet Don attack for attack. It was like fighting a mirror that could punch back!

"My father commands that we…_HIYA_…bring you to him." Karia answered, and the ninjitsu tango continued.

Don was sweating now. His arms were straining, and slowly his skills began to wane. Karia took full advantage of this. Still her attacks were not lethally indented, so the obvious fear of the battle was over.

Panting, Don demanded, "Fine! Just promise you'll let my brother leave in safety."

"We have other orders." Karia said in a stone cold tone that hit Don's chest like a bullet. Turning to Mikey, Don watched in horror as his little brother became helplessly surrounded and outnumbered.

"Our orders were to kill anyone who interferes."

* * *

Leo glanced down at the phone clutched in his hand. Driving one handed, Leo lead Raph down the dark streets toward the docks. Breathing heavily behind the full-masked helmet, Leo pressed the accelerator more.

He only hoped that he wasn't too late.

* * *

"NO!" Don screamed as he attacked with all his energy. Karia anticipated this type of reaction, but she did not expect so much anger to erupt within the calmest of the turtles. Now his attacks were aimed to kill. Putting all of the twenty years of experience and training into each sweep of his staff, Don was easily turning the tide.

"I thought you CHANGED!" Don screamed. "I thought you understood! Leo told me everything! How you helped them find me! How you insured their safety! For that I am grateful, but how you can turn your ethics back so quickly ASTOUNDS ME!"

"I must do what my father commands!" Karia was loosing balance to Don's attacks. Soon it would be over, but she had to say this. "He found out, Donatello! He found out that I betrayed him! All my honor hangs on this one battle!"

"HONOR?!" Don yelled, "That MY BROTHER you're planning on killing, BITCH!"

One strong kick had Karia fall into the floor. Don staff crushed into his arm, and it was easily broken. She screamed against the pain, but Don only twisted the staff in produce more pain.

"I will kill you before that happens!" Don snarled. His foot firmly placed over her exposed neck, and he was pressing his full weight on his windpipe.

"DONNIE!"

Don's head turned to where his little brother screamed his name, and his heart froze. Mikey was on his hands and knees with his weapons inches from his hands. Sweat gleamed off his green skin, and Don could see those shoulders shaking. Ninjas surrounded him with swords raised high…ready to...

"MIKEY! NO!"

Don's heart exploded after freezing. Karia chocked suddenly and pushed Don's foot off of her. Don feel to the ground easily as a drunk.

"NINJA HALT!" Kaira yelled, and the ninja obeyed her. Their swords were lowered. All turned to her and bowed obediently. Don could only see Mikey who fell to the ground instantly in exhaustion.

Looking down to Don who sat defeated on the sidewalk, Karia pointed her sword to Mikey. "I will not kill him, Donatello. That is, only if your cooperate! It is your choice…as it has always been. Will you obey us, or…" Karia signaled, and one ninja gripped the orange bandana tails of Mikey's mask. Pulling up, the ninja had Mikey's face forced to look at his brother. Then a sword was drawn and the blade pressed way too close to Mikey's exposed neck.

Heaving, Mikey and Don exchanged glances, and Don turned up to Karia. There was no choice, was there? Don leaned forward until he was on his hands and knees…like a dog.

"Please." Don breathed feeling tears burning through. "Please…I-I'll do anything you ask. Just…don't hurt him."

"Very good." Karia breathed as she lowered her blade. The ninja holding Mikey's mask nodded to the other ninja. Tick ropes wrapped around their wrist, and Don was forced to stand before Karia…bound once again.

"I have no choice." Karia frowned, but Don did not look her in eye. He couldn't.

Nodding to the ninja, Karia lead them to a hidden black van parked well within the shadows of the alley nearby. Mikey and Don were forced in the empty back of the van.

Karia sat in the passenger seat, and nothing was said the entire ride to the Shredder's tower. Don closed his eyes against all of this madness as he sat reclined against the van's wall. Suddenly there was a familiar weight against his side, and Mikey nuzzled his head under Don's chin. Tearing up, Don leaned his head on top of Mikey's.

"I-I'm so sorry, Mikey."

* * *

Leo feel to his knees. He gently picked up the nunchakus and held them against this plastron. Breathing heavily, Leo was kneeling in the middle of a field of dead ninjas. Somewhere near Raph screamed as he slammed Don's bo staff to the ground. He too…fell to his knees holding a little brother's weapon, the only remaining thing of them.

They found the Battle Shell. They found Don's destroyed computers and two shell cells in the back. They found the bo staff and nunchakus and the pier filled with dead and injured ninjas.

What they didn't find…was their little brothers.

* * *

_WHAA! I'm having a serious issues with Writer's Rush! That's what I call that feeling that overcomes a writer they were as so wrapped in their writing a particular part of the story that it becomes a high for them. Hopefully you guys know what I'm talking about, and I not sounding like a babbling drunk. Anway, more to come, and thanks for reading!!_

_-Weezellee_


	4. Bread Crumbs

_I'M NOT DEAD! Praise the Lord and pass the marshmellows! Anyway, wow! Long time no see. Sorry about that. I promise I will finish all my fanfics before Christmas! Andangway, you guys are so awesome! Seriously. Where would the writer be without the reader? Oh, profound question! Okay, so a stupid question. LOL!_

_Disclaimer: Owning the TMNT would only lead to the end of the world...of the turtles. Muhahahahahahaha!_

* * *

Chapter IV: Bread Crumbs

"From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate." Socrates

Raph was royally pissed off. Everyone knew Raph had a temperamental problem in his personality, but this was scary. It was scary to everyone but Leo who just spoke softy to his Master on the phone.

Raph killed all the ninjas on the docks. Those who where already dead, he only stabbed the black corpses. Leo turned to Raph. True he '_understood_' the rage in his brother's lungs right then. If Leo was more carefree then he would join him in the emotion-fueled killing spree, but Leo was the leader. Leadership came with the responsibility to be calm in situations like these.

"Yes, Master." Leo returned to the conversation over the phone with his master. "As far as we know their unarmed. We found smoke pellet and all their weapons." A pause. "Yes, sensei." Click. Leo closed his phone, and turned to Raph who stood in blood of his actions.

Sighing, Leo looked over the bloody mess Raph made. There was no time for a lecture. No time for Leo to even get pissed off at Raph's killing. Soon the police would find the slaughter, so Leo let this one slide….for now.

"Let's go." Leo ordered in a deep, commanding voice. Raph turned and followed.

* * *

After coming into the Shredder's tower, Don and Mikey were separated. At first Don wanted to fight against that, but seeing the helplessness of the situation- he backed off. 

The last time Don saw Mikey that night was when the elevator doors closed with his little brother with five ninja guards inside. Karai stood next to Don who only watched the lights above the elevator doors to see where they were taking Mikey.

Prison level 13. He should have known. However; Don had a date with Stockman that night. Five ninja and Karai were going to make sure he wasn't going to be late.

"Do not worry, Donatello. He will not be harmed…as long as you cooperate." Karai solemnly said as they waited for their elevator.

Don bit back half a millions snide comments. Silence, it seemed, to be the only way Don could concentrate on not screaming. Talking would only shatter his control. Was this how Raph felt sometimes?

Aw hell! Don knew it wouldn't be too long before Raph and Leo found their little brothers missing. They all would have conniptions by now. Closing his eyes, Don let one whispered through cross his mind.

_"It's all my fault…I should have seen this, damn it! But I swear…I'll fix this…I have to."_

They walk slowly into the elevator. The door closed before his face, and Don focused on clearing his mind. There was no time for panicking. All time was valued as one moment closer to escape.

As the elevator ascended, Don asked out loud, "Does the Shredder know you helped us?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "He does not."

"Have you really changed, or is this penitence from before for your father?" Don gritted his teeth.

"I have no choice."

Don had to close his eyes. Sometimes people don't change.

Finally the elevator doors opened to Stockman's lab. _Great_, Don rolled his eyes, _obviously they don't want to waste time._ Standing near the main computer mainframe was Stockman and the Shredder nearby. Don was forced to march forward into the room.

Don just couldn't hide the smile as he saw a few computers around the room disemboweled. This was obviously because of the Socrates virus, and Stockman look pissed.

"Good to see you again, Donatello." Oroku leered behind his metal mask. His armor shined in the blue light of the worthless monitors. Don turned to one of the monitors. The virus had done it's job well. All the screens showed a blue background with a white, typed sentence in the center.

Let no man fear death or fear anything but disgrace.

Following the young turtle's gaze, Oroku scoffed, "If you believe in this quote, then right now you must know the true meaning of fear."

"That's funny, Shredder." Donatello smirked up at him, "I was just about to say the same thing about you."

Don hit a nerve. Shedder's fist hit a cheek. Don feel sprawling on the floor. One of the many spikes on the Shedder's armor had cut into Don's face. Blood dripped to the black, polished floor of the computer room.

After the pain subsided to the pulsating sting, Don glared up at the Shredder. Karai stood next her father with a look of misplaced regret. Because he was bound, Don had to lifted to his feet by two ninja guards. Red, fresh blood dripped from the open gasp below his eye, down his neck and chest. The trickle of red ran down to his ankle, but Don still stood ridged before his enemy.

"Consider that a warning." The Shedder extended his hand, and a claw rested centimeters from Don's neck. "You believe yourself clever? You considered yourself safe when you mutant family rescued you, but you work here has sealed their fate with your own." The Shredder walked toward the elevator, but Don stared forward in complete horror. The elevator doors closed and Don was left alone with Doctor Stockman and a few ninja.

They had traced the signal! They knew where the lair was! Don's crumbling world just became completely decimated. All remaining hope was slaughtered instantly, and Don could only stand there, bound and helpless.

"Yes, Donatello." Stockman answered Don's own thoughts. "I knew about the tracking program in the alien technology. Before you crashed my computers, I was tinkering with the programs and found it by pure accident. Or, would you call that bad luck?"

Don growled, "If you activated the tracking system, then why didn't you ambush us? You had ample time!"

"All a matter of timing." Stockman winked. "You see, Donatello, an ambush would only show us where you lair is- not how to get to it. You are a prodigy in high security. We didn't want to know just where you lair was, but how to get to it from the surface."

"That's when your virus came in handy." Stockman winked, "Before your virus crashed my computers, I had them networked into two human made software systems that couldn't be destroyed by your virus."

Stockman turned to a monitor. Pushing a button, the monitor showed a map of lower Manhattan. Wanting to scream again, Don's eyes widened. A red dot indicated directly where the lair was below the streets.

"By uploading the virus to the human software, it was child's play in finding your clever route." Another button was pressed and a red line was drawn from the red dot to the pier. It was the same safe route he and Mikey took that very night. The map was numbered to inches!

Don left a bread crumb trail that no bird could consume, and his absolute worse nightmare became a measured reality. Sadly, the blame fell fully upon his shoulders, and Don feel to his knees.

All breath seemed to escape his lungs as his hands balled into white-knuckled fist. It was like he guided Stockman personally to his home. All the elaborate security systems that Don painstakingly built from scratch would be worthless. With one word, The Shredder could have Don's entire family bonded at his feet, and it was all Don's fault.

"Such is the fate of those who risk it all for the name of justice." Stockman leered. The doctor turned, and the monitor feel black. Don refused to move as the numbness in his veins began to boil like wax. Soon his eyes were full of haze of anger.

Lashing out with a yell of a desperate man, Don forgot he was bound. He fell on his side before Stockman, and how Don loathed that…that MAN!

"Now. Now." Stockman ticked, "Is that any to react toward a man who holds your family's lives in his hand?"

"I-if you dare…" Don hissed.

"Caged animals are no threat when your on the other side of the bars." Stockman knelt, and gripped Don's shoulder and lifted him to stand. To illustrate his formidable control, Stockman's iron hand swore until Don's shoulder bone began to whine under his grip. Don gritted his scream, and the turtle was released. He fell to the floor in a crumbled heap.

"Tell you what" Stockman tilted his head, "la sporgenza doesn't know about the tracker…yet. All he knows is that he has you and your brother captive. When he asked how I knew where you were tonight, I answered that it was a flexuosity anomaly I located on our radar system. The fool believed it, so the only one who knows where your family is us, right? If Shedder knew where your mutated family was…well he would act without hesitation to blow it to the hell."

"You're a genius, Donatello. More than you family gives you credit for, and you haven't even tapped into the full extent of you gift. I'm not only offering your life and the lives of your family, but a chance to fulfill the dreams you can only dream about. While you scavenge for spare parts in junkyards, the Shredder gives me a substantial amount of funds and resources. While you hide your genius in the sewers, I can proudly display my inventions before the world. Face it. My life is you dream."

Don staggered to his feet the best way possible. When he arrived at his destination, he glared at Stockman. His hate for this man was unmatched, but what other option was there?

"You must swear that no harm will come to them." Don said firmly as he could.

Stockman raised his hand in a mock gesture, "You have my word as a scientist." He lowered his hand and smiled, "I knew you'd see things my way. I'll even grant you special privileges for good behavior."

"Oh! I almost forgot." Stockman forced Don to turn around, and instantly the bonds were cut. Don almost waited for a electro-shock collar to be placed around his neck. When that didn't happen, he looked up at Stockman.

"You're wondering about the electrode collar? Sorry but I only have one, and it's being…used at the moment." Stockman switched on the monitor, and Don's anger mounted.

_"Mikey."_ Don mouthed. On the monitor was his baby brother chained in the cell somewhere on level 13. To his horror, Don could see a thick mechanical collar around Mikey's neck. He seemed unharmed and unnerved for the moment, and Don took comfort in that.

"Call this an example of psychological classic conditioning. Simply, every time you disobey or back-talk, little Mikey will suffer the punishment." He mockingly twittered Mikey's name like a boyish bully. If Don was upset before, he was _pissed_ off by that.

But, no, he couldn't react. Stockman would be true to his word. Walking toward the monitor, Don placed a hand on the screen. Mikey looked so hopeful as he sat there looking around him like a child in a museum. His lips were pursed in a whistle that Don couldn't hear. His baby brother. Don felt a prick at the corner of his eyes, but he refused to cry.

Turning to Stockman but keeping his hand near his brother's image, Don nodded firmly, but his eyes spoke of a painful death if Stockman lied.

"You might want to have the cut on your face cleaned."

_What is truer that logic?

* * *

Stockman, SHUT UP! Man, long winded basterd, ain't he? I guess that's my fault...tee-hee. As always, thanks for reading, and I promise the next chapter will come soon!! Also, reviews would make me smile! You like smiles?_

-Weezellee


	5. Keeping You in Mind

_I am having way too much fun! This chapter may seem hum-drum and a little angsty, but obviously...that's my whole life! LOL! Anydangway, it will get more exciting and stuff...I promise! This chapter is mundo important! Thanks for reading!!!_

_Disclaimer: I own my mind, but no one wants that. Seriously, it'll give you nightmares!_

* * *

Chapter V: Keeping You in Mind

"Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium of certain resemblances to that truth." -Socrates

It began to rain that night. It was late and chilly outside with low visibility. Rainwater feel from the sky, ran into the rain gutters, and disappeared from the surface. Soon the gutters became a network of small rivers. The street lamps lit the area with off-white florescent light.

The New England sky was a growing from black to a diluted black. It would rain all day probably if it wasn't for an optimistic break in the clouds to the East. Still the air was bitterly cold, and the air smelled of more rain.

Inside the Battle Shell the heater was blasting to level seven, and Leo was still cold. His two fingers tightened on the steering wheel until he felt the iron beneath the rubbery cover. Traffic to the tower was light, and the streets were mostly empty.

In Leo's world, all he could see was the ominous tower before him. The black, glass exterior of the Shedder Tower only reflected the blot-gray clouds. His eyes measured up to the 13th floor where his brothers were being held.

Raph sat silently next to him. Twirling a sia between his fingers, Raph sighed in frustration only every other second. Raph glared at the skyscraper as if his glare could burn a hole in those windows.

Leo had already called April and informed her about the situation. Obviously shocked by it, April asked questions that Leo had been asking himself. After learning they were just as lost, she offered her assistance.

All Leo could do now was pray for the plan to work.

Parking the van in a shadowed alley, Raph and Leo turned to each other. It was time. Wordlessly they left the truck, and Raph picked up the duffle bag from the back. Shutting the door, Raph turned to Leo.

"I can't wait to blow that place to hell," Raph commented gruffly. Saying nothing, Leo signaled to the rooftops. Nodding, Raph followed closely. Already the sky was a milky gray. Puddles dotted the rooftops.

Three jumps and two buildings later, they were staring at the black windows of the Shredder Tower. They stood on a nearby parking complex, so they were standing before floor ten of the skyscraper.

Daylight continued to grow. Leo's heart began to pound. Getting in was no problem, but how where they to get out?

* * *

Forced into a cell, Don stood on his own proudly. That seemed to be the only thing remaining in his control. Walls seemed to be closing in around him, and the gravity of the situation was crushing. Still, he forced himself to remain calm. If not for his own sake- than for Mikey. 

The cell was furnished like all the other cells in Shredder Tower. Same blank-gray walls, floor, ceiling, and iron door. Same lumpy pile of dried alfalfa, but this time Don was not bound. His hands and feet were free of any chain or rope. Somewhere a hidden camera watched his every move, but Don's mind wasn't concentrating on that.

_"Donnie?"_ It sounded like Mikey's voice was calling to him through the walls.

Pacing the length of the small room, Don tried to clean his mind of emotion. This helped Don half a millions times when he was faced with a perplexing dilemma.

_When Master Splinter caught a young Donatello frustrated, he called Don to sit on his lap._

_"What is wrong, my son?"_

_"I can't figure it out, master! The problem is just too hard."_

_"That is because you concentrate too much upon the problem, my son. You must look beyond the problem to see the solution. Do not loose yourself in the question that your forget you are looking for an answer. Clear your mind of the problem, and have faith that the answer will come to you."_

Don sighed, "The answer will come to me." Exhausted and sick, Don sat on the pile of decaying hay. It was dark but far from peaceful.

Suddenly he felt a presence, and it felt like it was reaching for him. The presence was friendly, warm, and familiar. Someone was reaching for him through a meditative mind-link. Splinter had taught all his boys about the mystical powers of the mind and special, family links.

Don had wanted to believe it. It just seemed so mystical and unscientific. It lacked reason and logic, and it relied to fully upon faith and hope. You can't find conclusive data or theories upon a that. You just can't!

_"Donnie?"_

Instantly Don stood up. Did he hear right? Someone had just called his name? He heard it so clear like someone was sitting next to him, but it also seemed to far like someone calling him from a dark cave. It was both a whisper and a yell. The voice was far and close. One thing Don knew completely. He knew that voice.

"Mikey?" Don called in the small cell. It had to be him!

_"Don?"_

Maybe he was just going crazy? The mind could be a sadistic liar. Don's tired mind had hoped that Mikey would be with him, and psychologically his mind procured Mikey's voice. Satisfied with that logic, Don sat back.

_"Donnie?"_

Don lied down and rolled to his side. He just needed to get some sleep. It had been a long night. He just needed to get some sleep.

_"Donatello?!"_

Tightly Don closed his eyes. _No way was this happening!_ No way in hell could he hear Mikey's voice. The walls were possibly three feet thick. It was all in his mind! It had to be!

_"DONATELLO!"_

That time the yelling voice in Don's mind shock him to the core. It filled his mind instantly with thoughts of his little brother. He could almost smell him, feel him. It felt like Mikey's hand was on his shoulder. Mikey seemed to be in the same cell, and his persistent yelling forced Don to his feet.

"No." Don exhaled sharply, "This can't be. It's not logical." He suddenly felt tears pricking behind his eyes. Suddenly he became angered, and yelled, "You're not here! YOU CAN'T!"

_"Don, can you hear me? Please…please…be here."_

"It's impossible." Don gritted his teeth, and cupped his hands over his ear slits. Instantly he fell to his knees, and the tears came- hard and fast. "Y-you can't be…here."

_"Don! I can feel you, man, but I can't hear you."_

"This isn't real!"

_"Please…let me know you're okay at least."_

"IT'S NOT LOGIC!"

_"Concentrate, Donnie. Do what Master Splinter taught us. Clear you mind. Come on, dude. Please? What do you have to lose?"_

Don rubbed his tears from his eyes, "Okay Mikey…Okay…I'll try."

Sitting cross legged, Don took in three good, deep breaths. Instantly his nervous mind felt better. A wave of clearness fell over his closed eyes like water. The feeling of Mikey increased until Don felt as if he could only reach out and feel Mikey's face.

_"Mikey?"_

The relief was evident in Mikey's voice. _"Holy cow, Don! Giving me a heart attack or something?"_

_"Sorry." _Don smiled as he tried to get use to hearing both his and Mikey's voices in his mind. It was a bizarre feeling- like a waking dream.

_"It's all good, dude!" _Even though Don couldn't 'see' Mikey's face, Don could 'feel' Mikey smile. Maybe bizarre didn't quite cover it.

_"Next time just leave a message." _Don laughed.

_"Oh, the great genius has a joke? Gather around, children."_

_"It's good to hear your voice." _Don breathed in.

Mikey winked, _"You too, dude. So…some place, huh? They forgot a mint on my pillow."_

_"Do you know what number you're in?"_

_"Um…1234."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Yep, thankfully it was something easy for me to remember…Man, that was a pathetic Raph impression, huh? It's like I say something, and I expect him to retort. Then I remember he's not here."_

_"I miss them too, Mikey. Are you okay?"_

_"Peachy. This collar is so itchy!"_

Don's heart twisted as his mouth became thick with guilt. Mikey's presence tilted it's head to the side in a puzzled expression.

_"What's wrong, dude? Are you okay?"_

Don breathed in, _"I'm fine. Just tired." _Don could have kicked himself. Mikey needed reassurance from his big brother. He didn't need Don's gloomy disposition covering up his sunny personality.

_"We're going to get out of this, Mikey." _Don said strongly.

_"Now that's what I like to hear!" _Mikey cheered, _"You've gotta plan?"_

_"Working on it," _Don answered truthfully. Then he smiled warmly and hoped Mikey could 'feel' the sincerity. Don could feel Mikey smile in return.

Mikey yawned, and Don chuckled, _"Tired, huh?"_

_"Uh-huh. Don, next time you want someone to go riding with you in the middle of the night, could you wake up Leo or Raph?" _Mikey was joking of coarse, so Don nodded.

An orange warmth enveloped Don's mind. Breathing in deeply, Don returned the mental embrace. Mikey's aurora suddenly shivered in sadness, and it became Don turn to comfort.

_"I promise. We'll get out of here soon, okay? So don' t worry. Get some rest."_

Don lied back down on his side, but Mikey refused to let go. He seemed to hang on to Donnie with more desperation. Reaching out his real hand, Don smiled and closed his eyes.

Suddenly the ground below rumbled. Earthquake? No, it wasn't. Earthquakes aren't so jerky, and their climaxes don't happen at the immediate beginning. There was one logic conclusion Don could reach.

Explosion.

_"Mikey!" _Don shouted through their mind-link. The only reply was extreme pain and the sound of Mikey screaming.

_"MIKEY!"_

_"What is truer than logic?"

* * *

Wouldn' t mind-linking be cool? I would use it for...good reasons. Sure, yeah, good reasons. NOthing bad. Nope nothing bad like reading my teacher's mind durring an impossible test. Not talking to my friends durring a boaring class sessions. Yep, I would do good things like...save money on phone bills! Yep, that's good and no selfish in anyway, right? Okay, so I'm bad! What would you do with a mind-link? That's my question you can answer in your review! Please review! You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to! Just please...REVIEW!_

lol. As always, thanks for reading!

-Weezellee


	6. Leaving Me

_Um...people are going to kill me? That's why my friend said after she read this chapter. Okay, so there's an IMPLIED character death. Get that people? IMPLIED! Okay, so it looks real that one of the brothers is dead. It's even logical that they are dead, but that's my whole moral of my story! Anyway, don't kill me. I'll make it all happy in teh end, k? (BTW: I ain't mad. I just fooling with ya'll!)_

_Disclaimer: DISCLAIME THIS! pulls out a marshmellow gun and starts firing at bunnies XD_

* * *

Chapter VI: Leaving Me

"The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways--I to die and you to live.

Which is the better, only God knows." -Socrates

The explosion shattered the blank-peaceful mourning. Soon the hallways were alive with chaos. Ninjas ran like the world was ending. Fire alarms bleared to life and only added to the confusion. The air was heavy with ozone and sulfur. The communications were alive with rumors circling around floor 10.

The Shedder demanded answers. No one knew the answers, so he ordered an entire ninja garrison to investigate. Again the building was struck with a bombardment of explosions. Smoke began to appear creeping from the vents, and people began screaming. All the fire extinguishers were activated making it rain inside the tower.

Don could only stand in his cell and listen to the war outside his door. This could only mean one thing. Ninjas continued to run and shout outside his door as more explosions detonated below their feet.

Suddenly Don's door was practically ripped off it's hinges. Stockman's cybernetic body stormed into the cell followed by two other ninja. The sprinkler system on the hallway ceiling was down pouring. The water was cold as it sprayed on Don's face and trickled down Stockman's chrome shoulders.

Without a warning, Stockman's mechanic hand snapped out and gripped Don my the neck. Lifting the turtle easily off a few feet, Stockman glared at Don.

"Apparently your family is _stupid_ enough to barrage this stronghold!" Stockman's fingers gripped harder. Donnie felt his airway closing. It was painfully crushing, and Don could only wheeze for molecules of oxygen.

He started to kick his legs frantically, but to no avail. Already his brain was shutting down and his limbs began tingling before going numb. His vision was blurring and his heart struggled.

Stockman leered, "You're little brother will join you soon, Donatello. Take comfort in that."

_"NO!" _Don's mind screamed as his fingers numbly searched Stockman's forearm. It was there, right below the wrist, that Don found a few visible wiring. He gripped three wires with his finger and pulled with his remaining strength.

The wires snapped, and an electrical currant shocked both Stockman and Donnie. Stockman released Don's neck, but he only had a second to escape.

Once he was dropped, Don kicked his legs low, and Stockman fell like a tree on the ninjas standing behind him. Hurdling over the fallen bodies, Don ran into the hall. The sprinklers and alarms created the distraction Don needed.

None of the guards were patrolling the hall. Most where sent to scout out floor 10 for survivors. Don ran until he found cell 1234, and his panic screamed in his veins when he couldn't hear Mikey's scream.

Something was wrong.

In his adrenaline-fuelled panic, Don managed to break the iron locks with his hands. The door flew open, and Don rushed inside to see something worse than any nightmare.

Mikey's body lying motionless, and the electrode collar was still active.

* * *

Leo and Raph jumped through the broken window on level 10 easily. They jumped into what remained of the ninja dormitories. Bedding was on fire because of the grenades Leo launched into the window. Tables fell over in the blast, and a fire continued to rise. 

Startled ninja boys began fighting Leo and Raph with no success. Soon the fire was in the hallway, and Leo detonated a few more explosives as they ran. The sprinkler system started once they reached the stairs. And it was about that time when ten ninjas began running downward.

Raph and Leo fought them in the small space of the stair well. Smoke rose from level 10's landing as steal swords and sias collided. Because of the small space, ninjas waited above for their turn to be tossed or kicked unconscious.

The two brothers fought side by side up the stairs until they came to the landing for level eleven. There was more room there for the ninjas to attack, and Leo had his back against a wall. He couldn't see Raph. All he saw was swords swiping and black-masked faces.

He could only hear his brother's battle cry somewhere in the skirmish. Blood began to cover the floor along with ninja bodies. Leo was now pushing back from the wall, and the Foot was retreating.

Covered in sweat and blood, Leo looked for Raph and saw him leaning against the wall. His bloody hand was pressing hard against his side, and he snarled and grimiest. Leo was about to run to his side when another wave of ninja advanced down to them.

Leaping in front of Raph, Leo turned to the ninja. Swords raised, Leo was ready to fight until the last heartbeat. However, the ninjas were stopped. They just stood there like obedient soldiers.

Someone shouted an order, and the ninjas lined up on either side of the stairs. Their heads slightly raised, the ninja stood frozen. Leo heard footsteps clicking down the stairs, and soon he saw a familiar woman standing on the next stair landing.

"Karai," Leo snarled.

Karai walked down three steps before unsheathing her sword. She pointed the tip of her katana at Leo and demanded, "What is the meaning of this, Leonardo? Why do you attack us in such bloodthirsty manner?"

"You're father kidnapped my brothers yesterday," Leo snapped as he rose his own bloody sword. He pointed it at Karai, and asked, "Did you know this?"

Looking away, Karai answered, "I knew this because I was the one who carried out the order."

* * *

"Mikey!" 

Don rushed in the cell. Sparks visibly discharged from the collar. Like white ,spider legs they dances across Mikey's face and chest. The young turtle's eyes were wide open and his lips were partly open, and the sight would never leave Don's mind forever.

Kneeling nearby, Don was instantly shocked. The collar was simple in design, but Don had no sharp object to break the charger below Mikey's right jaw. Looking around quickly, Don found broken…plate shards.

In Mikey's moment of pain, he possibly smashed the plate in order to cut the collar off. That wouldn't have worked, and Mikey lied there so lifeless…so dead.

Picking up a large porcelain shard, Don looked back at Mikey. He had one shot. He had to pierce the charger deep enough to shut it off, but if he plunged the shard in too deep he could hit the jugular vain.

Closing his eyes, Don placed his left hand on Mikey's chest. His right hands held the shard four inches from his baby brother's neck.

He only had one shot.

* * *

"What?" Leo couldn't believe it. Sure it had crossed his mind that Karai knew about the kidnapping, but he never realized _she _did it. He considered her not only an ally but a friend. But then she did something so unforgivable that…

Karai nodded, "I had to."

"Don't feed us that bullshit!" Raph snapped.

Karai's face turned to rage. "What would you do, Raphael?! What would you do if your father ordered it!"

_"I still cannot stand here while you murder my father, Donatello." Kari jerked the chain; forcing Donatello on his knees. "Could you? Could you kill your father to save a few strangers?"_

_Don snarled, "My father would never do such a thing! But, if that's the case; I wouldn't hesitate."_

Leo glared, "Don't play that father-loyalty card with us, Karai. If our father would do something we believed was evil, none of us would stand for it, let alone carry out his orders! You always have a choice in…"

"L-leo," Raph crumbled to the floor. Sweat dotted his brow, and Leo was instantly to his side. Pealing back Raph's hand, Leo saw the deep and ugly cut running up his side. His brother's breaths were shallow and labored.

"C-cut her some slack, Leo." Raph firmly looked at Leo, "It must be hell to g-go through something like that. Your own f-father, Leo. Think about it."

"I can't accept that, Raph," Leo said, his voice strained with emotion. "She…We need to get you out of here."

Raph's blood-soaked hand reached for Leo's shoulder, "No. We can't leave. You have to go on, Leo. S-save them."

"I'm not leaving you." Leo began unwrapping his own leather wrist bands. Leo wrapped the leather strips as a tourniquet. It was a bit difficult with the shell and area of the cut. At least it stopped the bleeding.

Karai watched this all from the stairs in silence. Obviously the boys were outnumbered, and their survival depended upon hope. Still they kept hoping.

"You are doing the same thing I am," Karai said firmly. "You are here out of duty and obligation to your family."

Leo looked back at her. "You think I'm doing this because I have to? That I have no other choice? No…I'm not here because of duty, Karai. We're here out of love."

A tear ran unchecked down Karai's face. Leo continued, "I love them, Karai. Not because I have to, but because I want to."

* * *

The collar was deactivated. The sparks stopped flying around Mikey's face. Don's trembling fingers pressed against Mikey's wrist. He prayed for a heartbeat, but he felt none. Checking below his jaw, Don's heart fell. No pulse. NO PULSE! 

Don looked to Mikey's face still frozen in fear. Don listened closely for a breath, but none came. Feverishly Don performed CPR. His palm covered Mikey's snout the best it could as Don tearfully breathed into his brother. The heal of his hands pumped and pumped on Mikey's chest in hope to return a heartbeat.

"Come on, Mikey!" Don ordered, "Breath! Damn it, you can't do this to me!"

One breath…wait…two breaths.

"You can't leave me!"

One pump…two pumps…

Tears began filling Don's eyes. Mikey's body didn't react. No heartbeat. No chest movement. Nothing. _Nothing._

"MIKEY!" Don screamed, and his voice cracked. Tears fell quickly as Don's worse fears became real.

"Please…don't leave me! You can't…YOU CAN'T!"

Ten pumps…eleven pumps…

"MICHELANGELO!"

Mikey was dead.

"NO!"

_**"WHAT IS TRUER THAN LOGIC?!"**

* * *

Um...yeah. runs off Please review before you kill me, please? I'll give marsheymellowes! As always, thanks for reading...cough and reviewing cough_

-Weezelee


	7. Between Nothing and Anything

_tiny wave Hello, peeps! Umn...long time no sees? LOL! Anyway, I'm not dead! That's always a good thing, right? Anyway, I will continue! I will! This chapter get's a little confusing, but not too much. I'm so excited! I'm sorry about droping off the face of the earth! YOU RULE!_

_Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, can I dress Raph in a tutu? No? AWWWW:'(_

* * *

Chapter VII: Between Nothing and Anything

Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.  
Sophocles

"It's over, Leonardo. I cannot let you pass," Karai solemnly stated.

Gritting his teeth, Leo growled, "Then…you leave me no choice."

"What can you do," Karai asked. "You are outnumbered, and your brother is severely wounded."

Leo snarled. He knew the odds against them. He looked to the ninjas and understood they couldn't survive another attack. He looked back to Raph and his heart fell seeing his strongest brother looking so beaten. Still there was fire in Raph's eyes and acid in his glare. Raph wouldn't die without a fight.

Tightly closing his eyes, Leo felt his world close. All he could do was prepare for the end. Tightly gripping his swords, Leo took the stance of a warrior facing his last battle.

"Let them go," Leo hissed. "Take me instead, but let my brothers go free."

Karai shock her head, "I am not in that position, Leonardo."

"Fine then." Leo glanced over his shoulder, "Raphael..." Leo whispered, "once I draw there attack, you escape the best you can."

"H-hell no," Raph yelled. He slowly stood only to have his lungs scream in protest. While one hand held constant pressure on his wound, the other held tightly to a bloody sia.

Leo snapped, "That's an order!"

"You ain't got that right, Leonardo," Raph spat. Blood still fell from his wound in droplets. His weak, pain-filled body soon feel against the wall, and Raph gave a startled scream.

"Raph!" Leo instantly knelt at his side. Too much blood! Raph could hardly stand on his own, and soon…he would die. The leather tourniquet became sticky with blood, and the knot was loosening.

"Leave this place." Karai said firmly, "You can't afford not to. Leave and do not return, or I will do what my duty commands."

"She's right," Leo sadly said out loud as he pushed his hand on Raph's wound. Help wouldn't come.

Raph's eyes went wide. His expression pleaded to Leo not to give up, the Foot had Donnie and Mikey! They couldn't abandon them now! Leo wouldn't allow that, right?

Reaching down, Leo gripped Raph's free hand. Both stood as Raph leaned heavily against Leo. With all Raph's blood on the floor, Raph could only let a tear slip before fainting in his brother's arms.

Leo swung Raph's limp body over his shoulder as he walked down the stairs. All ninjas were watching him. No one stopped him as he walked to the hole in level 10. The sprinklers on the ceiling were still active even through the fire was dead.

One tear slipped down Leo's face.

* * *

Tears did nothing. Tender touches did nothing but add to the ach in Don's chest. In the end, Mikey was dead in his arms. His mortal shell showed no signs of life- none at all. Don had checked half a million times as if expecting a shadow of a hope.

Sitting on the cold, concrete floor, Don held his brother close to his chest. Rocking back and forth, Don cried bitter tears with his cheek pressed against his baby brother's head. His arms gripped tightly around his brother's chest. They sat in the tangent silence for what felt like lifetimes.

_"What is truer than logic?"_

Tightly he closed his eyes when he heard the voice. Grief numb, Don didn't think- couldn't feel. He could only hold onto his dead brother and cry and cry.

_"What is truer than logic?"_

The voice echoed again and again like rain drops. It started as a small drizzle of whispered voices, but they soon grew into a chorus of yells and scream. Don began to tremble. They were so loud. All the voices yelling the same question in his mind.

_"WHAT IS TRUER THAN LOGIC?!"_

"Nothing…NOTHING," Don screamed back with his whole vocal power. His voice broke in the middle of the word. Tears feel faster. He held tighter to Mikey. The word he screamed to no one broke his heart. It spoke of his dead brother and the smile Don would never ever see again.

Suddenly the voices stopped. Silenced by Donatello's scream. His mind returned to the silence, but one voice finally spoke up. It was the same man who stood at the mouth of the Cave.

_"Nothing? So…you believe your eyes before your heart?"_

Don gritted his teeth, and whispered, "Please…just leave me alone."

_"Man of the Seeing, you trust what is not seen?"_

"Mikey's dead."

_"What makes you so sure? What right to you have to call what is dead and what is alive? Logic has taught you little. It has made you blind, and you mock it's power because you cannot believe in anything higher."_

"There is nothing higher than logic," Don tightened his fist. "No hope. No God to change this."

_"Answer me thus and be true, Donatello. What would you give to bring your brother back?"_

Don opened his tearstained eyes. Something warm sparked in his system like a candle in a raging storm. The light still burned despite the overwhelming odds.

"Anything," Don whispered. The warm flame grew suddenly. Don's tears stopped falling, and he looked down at Mikey. His hand fell over Mikey's eyes, and Don closed his own eyes.

_"Follow the path into the Cave. Find your brother and bring him into the Light."_

_"Concentrate, Donnie. Do what Master Splinter taught us. Clear you mind. Come on, dude. Please? What do you have to lose?"_

Don rubbed his tears from his eyes, "Oh Mikey…Okay…I'll try."

Taking two deep breaths before mentally falling himself into Mikey's subconscious, Don felt his head jerk upwards. _His eyes snapped open, but instead of seeing the blank ceiling of the cell he saw storm clouds._

_Lowering his gaze, Don could see he was standing in the middle of a vast, flat field. Nothing grew on the dry dirt that stretched forever in all directions. The sky above was a shadow gray mass of storm clouds. It didn't rain, but the ozone smelled of moister hovering in the sky. The ground was so arid, and the air so lifeless._

_"Mikey," Don whispered and the wind stirred in reply. It was a weak wind that blew Don's bandana tails. There seemed to whispering voice within the wind, or was it the whisper was the wind?_

_"Turn around and meet what logic would disprove."_

_Don obeyed the wind's whisper. Turning around, Don staggered a bit in finding himself standing just a few feet from the entrance of a mausoleum. _

_It was made out of black stone with two roman pillars standing on either side of the entrance. Inside was completely dark. An eerie chill floating from the crypt's mouth. On the lintel of the entrance was carved an epitaph. Written in Greek, the words read of the tragic passing of someone so young and…hopeful. It continued to read that he who is buried always knew what was stronger than logic._

_"There was such a bright and beautiful sun here," the old roman man commented as he steeped behind Don. "Such hope, such brilliance I've seen only a few times since my death. The land before you once was a vast array of vegetation and life. Now it is dry and lifeless, but it's not completely dead. Look."_

_The man's hand pointed near Donatello's feet. Looking down, Don saw a shriveled yet living sprout. Smiling down at it, Don turned to the dark mausoleum._

_"He's in there," Don whispered._

_The man walked up behind the turtle and answered, "Yes. He still clings to life that grows dimmer." The man whispered urgently, "Hurry. Find the answer and save your brother."_

_Don nodded and ran into the darkness. The man smiled as he watched Donatello disappear._

_

* * *

_

Was I the only one yelling, "Go, Donnie! GO!" lol! Aw man, poor Raphie, Leo, Mikey, Donnie. These boys need a little vacation after all of this. Seriously. Oh! I bought a Nightwatcher action figure! squee Man, I am such a geek! Anyway, thanks for reading!

-Weezelee 


	8. Light within Darkness

_Ladies and Gentleman, you are about to read Weezelee's Philosophy on...something truer than logic! This is my opinion only. Sorry, if it sounds like I'm preaching in this chapter. A little bit of a background on me, I use to be an __Atheist. I believed that logic, science, is all there was when dealing with what truth is. All the science that I found disproved faith. One semester at college I read a book. "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. This book isn't exactually on God or science, but it taught me something. Sometimes, dispite life and science or maybe because of it, believe in something is better than believing in nothing at all. I conider my faith to be stronger than my knowledge, and my faith only makes my knowledge stronger because I fear nothing._

_Disclaimer: TMNT ain't mine, yo! I come from the Southside of Idaho, fo real dawg...yo? (I'm so WHITE! LOLZ!)_

* * *

Chapter XIII: Light within Darkness

"While there's life, there's hope." Cicero

_It was dark and lonely inside the crypt. With one hand on the right wall, Don cautiously walked forward into the darkness. The lonely light of the outside world behind him grew dimmer and dimmer until Don was left in complete obscurity._

It was cold there- within the darkness. His fingertips felt the clammy, stone walls as his feet walked on the broken path. The ground became more uneven as he walked. The walls began to loose their symmetry to each other. The surface thereof became more earthy, and Don could smell the wet soil.

Soon the ground began to decline slightly. _Like a grave_, Don noted as he walked further down into the earth. Where the tunnel slopped, Don could see light ahead of him. Walking with renewed hope, Don saw the light grow with each step.

This was the end of the tunnel. The light came from a door-less entrance into a separate room. The threshold was carved from the soil. The structure of the whole cave left Don uneasy about its constitution. How was it staying up like this? With so many tons of dirt and stone, a cave made out of soil shouldn't stand.

Despite this logic, the cave stood firm.

Walking into the separate room, Don looked around for his brother. Then…he saw him. Don's heart froze.

Mikey was nailed to a wooden cross placed in the center of a vast, empty room of soil. Mask-less, Mikey's head was bowed, and his eyes were closed as if dead or meditating. Four iron nails pierced both palms and wrist on the arms of the cross. His feet were pierced by one that dove through both feet. Blood dripped from these wounds to the soil floor. The blood soaked into the loam, turning it into a dark mud.

A campfire burned at the foot of the cross. Mikey's feet were in danger of the flames, but they seemed unburned. Even the wooden cross that stood far to close to the fire, but it remained untouched. It didn't make sense.

Don's mind wasn't resting upon the illogic of this, but he stared in horror at his brother- nailed on a cross. Walking slowly, Don dared not speak for some reason. He stood on the other side of the fire from his brother.

Looking up, Don gently whispered, _"Mikey."_

Instantly Mikey's eyes opened. Rising his head to look down at Don, Mikey smiled weakly. There was a certain dullness in Mikey's blue eyes. The light of the fire couldn't penetrate the blackness of those eyes.

_"I knew you'd come, brother," _Mikey said wearily, but he still smiled. _"You always keep your promises."_

_"Who did this to you," _Don demanded.

"A man. Didn't…give his name," Mikey answered slowly. Despite being nailed to the cross, Mikey didn't look like he was in any pain. He just looked so tired.

_"What is truer than logic?"_

Don turned around to the voice. There, in the same robe, stood the man that showed Don the way. His face looked so old and unnatural in the fire's light.

Steeping forward, the man continued, _"You've made it so far, Donatello. You've found what you've been searching for."_

_"That's him," _Mikey breathlessly said. Don looked up to see absolute terror in Mikey's eyes. _"That's the man."_

Don pivoted to the man and drew his bo staff. Angrily, he glared at the man, _"Why did you do this to my brother?"_

_"Because it is what must be in the Laws of Logic. Someone who dies must die. It is Nature's Law."_ The man walked toward the flames. He stood looking up at Mikey, but he addressed Donnie.

_"As a man of science and logic you already know the price of being mortal. All mortal things must die in their due time."_

Don demanded sharply, "You told me that logic made me blind. You told me there's something greater than it! You…you told me he wasn't dead!"

_"Yes…I did,"_ the man turned to Don. _"It has made you blind, but the Law clearly states that things that are mortal must die."_

_"You know, as a spirit of knowledge you sure are giving mixed signals."_

_"Do you believe in these Laws," _the man asked, ignoring Don's comment.

_"Yes, I do, but there has to be more to it."_

_"So…you finally believe in something existing beyond logic and reason?"_

Don stood there, transfixed and lost. His mind repeated those questions over and over in his mind. Recalling old memories and even older books, Don searched for something- anything truer than logic.

_"Remember what you read before entering this Cave," _the man interrupted Don's thoughts, _"Above the crypts door, it reads that this," _he pointed up to Mikey,_ "poor soul has learned for a very tender age the thing that is more real than logic."_

Don looked up at his brother on the cross. Mikey's gaze was fixed upon the good-sized fire blow his feet. Slowly tears appeared in the young turtle's eyes. They fell from his slightly bowed face to the fire. Instantly they extinguished in puffs of vapor.

_"Why…why are you torching him?" _Don glared at the man as he felt his own emotions getting the better of him, _"He's done nothing!"_

_"Such are the tragedies of life. Like it says, the good die young," _the man looked to Don. _"Can you hope, Donatello? Can you blink back that logic that says your brother is dead? Can you believe?"_

Don looked up at Mikey. Already his image was fading into shadow. His body began to drift into the darkness, but he was still nailed. Don panicked.

_"Mikey always believed in Santa," _Raph's voice whispered in the darkness. Don blinked. Raph? No, he couldn't be here. It wasn't logical. Still, his brother's voice echoed from the darkness.

_"We told him that Santa wasn't real," Raph's voice continued. "He didn't care. He still believed. We even showed him that it was Master Splinter who hid the presents under the tree on Christmas night."_

_Leo's voice added, "Seeing all this evidence against his belief, he still choice to believe. I asked him 'why he would believe in something like this? He knew it wasn't real.' _

_Raph's voice laughed, "He answered…"_

_"Because," Mikey smiled from his cross. "There may be a hundred reasons not to believe in something. You may think you have found a logical and scientific reasons, but the moment you've lost faith beyond reason…you loose everything…even the will to find the beauty in life. Because once you loose faith, life becomes a period between birth and death. Your thoughts…feelings…and dreams become nothing more than damn wishes. Life looses life when it loses it's faith in something more than."_

_Master Splinter's voice echoed from the cave's shadows, "That's hat made Michelangelo so special. Never did he forget his faith in life despite powerful evidence against his faith. He had faith in his brothers, in me, and in life. Disappointment couldn't deter him because he made up a choice when he was young. He decided that no matter what, he would never give up, even if he died in the process."_

_"Faith," _Mickey looked directly at Don. _"The choice to believe despite it all. To believe that you would save me."_

Don shock his head, _"Why? Why, Mikey? Haven't you learned that life isn't fair?"_

_"Sure it isn't fair. I know that, dude," Mikey smiled that same warm smile. "War happens, people die, yadda yadda…" He laughed, "We both know you could go on for hours, even days, telling me how stupid and illogical it is to believe in life, but you know what? I don't care. Can't you think of anything that has awed you because you can't explain it? Can't you remember times that cause you to question logic itself? I have…many times."_

_"Faith," Don blinked._

_"Faith that Raph and Leo won't tear each other apart when their fighting get's heated. Faith that justice exist despite the injustices of the world. Faith…in something truer that logic. Faith that I have that you would save me."_

_"What if I don't," Don became teary eyed._

_"I have faith that you would have. You're my brother, and you love me. Logic didn't tell me that you love me. You did, and I have faith that you do. You could say, logically, that you love me because I'm your brother. I don't think that's all of it, right? Brothers can hate each other, so why do you love me?"_

_"Because of…my faith in you," Don whispered. Mikey nodded. The man steeped back into the darkness._

_Mikey smiled, "What do you say, brother, we get the hell out of here?"_

_"I'd thought you'd never ask."_

_Don walked into the fire. He was not burned. His fingers reached and gently brushed Mikey, and the world disappeared into light._

_Faith within logic. Light within darkness._

_

* * *

_

Yep, there it be! My Philosophy-e! Before you write your review, I don't believe in The Secret. Sure, it may sound as if I do, but seriously that book takes faith a bit tooooooo far. I'm a die-hard skeptic fo realz! Yo yo! Anyway, don't forget to reviewz! I would love...youz! Psychology rulzzzzzzzz and Philosphy too!

As always, thanks for reading!

-Weezelee


End file.
